Colors of Wedding Dresses in Different Cultures

Colors of the Wedding Dress Rainbow: Find Out What You Know

I went to a wedding a couple of weeks ago and the bride did not wear white. Her choice had nothing to do with her virginity. Her family's from Afghanistan, so she chose to wear a rich, green traditional outfit. In America today it might be unusual to see a bride wearing something colorful, but a white dress did not become popular until Queen Victoria wore one to her wedding in 1840. Can you can guess what colors brides around the world traditionally wear?

Oddly enough, white didn't become a popular color because it represented purity. It was popular because it was so impractical. It was a status thing. You had to be rather rich to afford a dress you would only be able to wear once or twice before you inevitably spilled something on it. The 'white for purity' reasoning came about after white was already popular.